3D photos: Minoru 3D webcam hands-on

Everyone knows the best thing to film at home in 3D is porn. It's now more affordable than ever thanks to a 3D webcam called Minoru

Nate Lanxon

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Nate Lanxon

July 16, 2009 6:44 a.m. PT

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Everyone knows the best thing to film at home in 3D is porn. There's no point arguing -- it's a simple, unavoidable fact. But now it's more affordable than ever thanks to a £50 3D webcam called Minoru.

We've been playing with the cute little Minoru for a while, tolerating people from all over the CBSi offices ditching their work to 'ooh' and 'aah' at stereoscopic images of their ~~nipples~~ hands.

How does it work?

The Minoru produces something called anaglyph images -- images which contain two superimposed pictures, one slightly offset atop the other to give the impression of depth and distance between objects being photographed. This results in a stereoscopic image which, when viewed through 3D glasses, gives the effect of being three-dimensional. And it records video in the same way, too.

But what makes this camera so fun isn't just its low cost, but its ease of use: just plug it in via USB, install the software, then hit one button to take a 3D photo, or a different one to record a 3D video. It can produce images up to a resolution of 800x600 pixels, and can function as a normal webcam if needed, with a built-in microphone for recording sound.

It's a really cute little camera, well-built and suited to being fixed to your computer's display. The image quality is decent, too, though don't expect rich colours -- you're viewing through red and blue lenses remember, so everything's got a heavily surreal colouration effect on top of it that's rather like watching a film about a drug trip, while on a drug trip. But for £50 we're not complaining -- this is more about fun than anything else.

Of course, anyone you're video-conferencing with in 3D will need a pair of those blue-and-red glasses on. If you've got a pair with you right now, you can enjoy the world's first stereoscopic tour of the CBSi offices here in London over the next few pages.

And don't miss the first 3D video we've ever published, which is embedded below. You can buy the Minoru webcam from Firebox now.

Be warned: some readers have had eyestrain watching the 3D video. Best not to stare too hard!